Tanning apparatus



Oct. 25, 1938. c. KANNEL TANNING APPARATUS Filed Oct. '22, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 25, 1938. c KANNEL I v 2,133,989

TANNING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 22, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 la 7- m2 C. KANNEL TANNING APPARATUS Filed 001;. 22, 1936 PH J A 0&(25, 1938.

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M W W W Oct. 25, 1938. c. KAN-NEL 2,133,989

TANNING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 22, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 $& 40

Patented Oct. 25 19 38 UNITED STATES PAT ENT. .oFFicE TANNING APPARATUS Charles Kannel, Cleveland, Ohio i 7 Application October 22, 1936, Serial'No. 106,079 e 14 Claims. (c1.f149--21);

The presentinvention relates to improvements in hide tanning apparatus, and has as itsprimary. object to. facilitate the process of tanning so asto materially reduce the time required :for

5 effecting thorough penetration or striking. of

the tanning liquor into the hide. .1

Ithas heretofore been proposed inthe generally approved method of tanning hides to hang the hides on or over supporting sticks, and to,

l slowly reciprocate the hides so disposed up and down in a vat of liquor, but such'operation usually takes from two to three months to produce proper tanning results, primarilydue to the position and movement of the hides, which is such that the liquor cannot effectively attack or strike through the hides, particularly the thicker .portionat the center line of the hides; l

.In carrying out my method, however, I employ anovel arrangement of frames upon whichthe Q hides are so fastened that'in thereciprocation and oscillation of saidlframes the liquor in which they are immersed is pocketed by the; hides with such force or pressure as to cause it .to penetrate even into the thickest portion of the hidein a 25 very short period oftime. compared Withthatof the former rocking processes. I V

.More specifically, my invention,comprisesga. series of open hide-supporting frames arranged in V-formation, or a series of suchformations,

30 zigzagging back and forth in a rackfrom one-end to the other, said frames allowing the hides to be attached thereto with the center line of each hide at the apex of the V. Thus, the hides alternate in the direction of facing and receive the, full force of pressure of the liquor at each reciprocal movement of the racks which are removably mounted upon a suitable carriage or, carriages adapted to be driven to and fro by any desired reciprocating mechanism. 7

0 It is further an object of my invention to-provide a rectangular frame, above referred to, with hook devices at its ends to enable said hooks to engage in suitable hanger eyes carried by op posing sides of an open rack, so as to l position each frame transversely and diagonally across the rack, thereby forming an assembly ,unit capable of accommodating a very large number of hides which may be readily hungtherein and sub- 50 sequently bodily disposed inor removed from the vat of tanningliquor by hoisting apparatus of a conventional type. v

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel fea- 5 6, tures thereof defined by the appended claims.

, In thedrawingsz- Figure 1 is a perspective view. of a tanning ape paratus embodying my invention;

Figure 2-is a'perspectiveview of a carriage for supporting the hide racks; I t 5 Figure3 is a perspectiveview of the rack element used in my apparatus;

. Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view,-showing more clearly the arrangement of the'hideesupporting frames and hides mounted therein; r j

Figure 5' Ba detail perspective view. of the mounting end of a hide-supporting frame and its cooperating rack supports and hide, clamp;

Figure 6 is a detail view-of the hide-clamping or holding bar used in conjunction with the hidesupporting frames; ..1

' Figure. 7 .is a transverse sectional view taken about on the-plane indicated by line 'l-'| of Figure-4 showinga slightly modified. method of hangingxthe hides in the hide supporting frame;

, Figure '8 is a top plan of a slightly modified form of apparatus embodying a plurality of racks and carriages designed to reciprocate in opposing relation to each other; I

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic View of a modified form of apparatusiintwhich the rackswith their supporting frames are oscillated in the tanning vat;-w':.' r I Figure lOkis a longitudinal sectional view of a,

modified form: ofapparatus in which the racks and frames are reciproc'ated in a, vertical plane in thevats instead of a horizontalplane;

Figure 11' is a fragmentary view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of the rack and hide supporting frames used in the apparatus of Figure 10;and r Figure 12.is afragmentarysectional view taken on the-plane indicated by the line IZe-IZ of Figure ll; J 'i' Referring .to .the drawings, and specifically describingmyinvention, l designates a tankor tan ningvat adapted toreceive tanning liquors. At each end ofjthisvat, a track member 2-is provided-and upon these is supporteda carriage which comprises an open rectangular-frame 3 havingwheelsorrollers 4 at each end. This car-; riage, best seen in Figure 2, is adapted to be shifted to and-fro by any desired mechanism, that shown'for, this purpose being merely exemplary of onetype, and consisting of the motor 5 which drives a worm shaft 6 and worm gear 1 to which is eccentrically connected'a crank 8. The crankin turn isconnected to alever 9 pivotally secured at one end to the end of thevat and at its other end adjustably connected to an endless cable ID.

This cable is secured to the carriage 3, as by means of the arched arm II.

In the use of this apparatus, it is to be under- 7 reasons to be more clearly pointed out as this description proceeds.

Along the top and bottom rails of the side frames I2 are secured a series of eyes or hangers H in which hooks on the hide-supporting frames later to be described are received.

In order to suspend this rack in the carriage 3, the ends 13 are provided with lateral extensions or arms l5, which are adapted to rest upon the sides ofthe carriage,.as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 4.

An. important feature of .my invention resides in the construction andiarrangement of the hide supports or frames, and reference will now be made to Figures 4 and 5 in this connection. Each frame 16 is rectangularin form and provided with a vertical center bar 11 to thereby provide a pair of openings over which the hides are hung in a special manner. At each end, the frame has an upper and a lower hook [8 by means of which the frame is hung in the rack eyes l4 at opposite ends in a diagonal position, as shown clearly in Figure 4 of the drawings.

'Inthe operation and.use of this apparatus as thus far disclosed, it will-be understood that the frame members 16 are first introduced or hung in the rack l3 so'as to form a zig-zag arrangement, such. as shown in Figure-4, extending fromone end of the rack to the other- While, of course, this may be done when the rack is on the carriage and in the vat, as shown in Figurel, the preferable method employed is to removethe rack from the vat to a. convenient place for attaching the hides to the frames. i.

When the .frames are in the position above referred to, a hide isattached to each pair of frames in the manner shown in Figure 4, wherein the'le'ngth of each hide-supporting frame corresponds to one-half .of' the width of. .the' hide. That is to say,..one-half of the. hide a is tacked or secured to one frame 16a over its openings, and the other half of thehide is attached to the adjacent frame I6b over itsv corresponding openings. Since it is not desirable to pass fastening members through the thicker portion of the hide along a central line,1I employ a bar l9, shown clearly in Figs. 5 and 6, which has at its ends hook elements 20 to engage in the eye I4 to which the two adjacentframes 16a and Hit) are connected. Thus the bar l9- will hold the central portion of the hide in the stretched position show'n in the drawings and the same method of attachment of the next hide is followed so that the hide will be disposedbetween the frame llib and its next adjacent frame I60. The-hide between the last mentioned pair of frames will therefore face in the opposite direction to that which is attached to the frames Mia and IN). This same arrange-' ment is followed throughout the frames from one end of the rack to the other.

It will be understood that in' this arrangement the flesh side of thehides'faces the racks or conaisaoee tacts with the frames so that in the operation of the apparatus no injury to the grain side from abrasion or pressure will occur and the grain side will directly contact with the tanning liquor and will be subjected to the pressure which forces the liquor to act upon and penetrate the hide as hereinafter set forth.

When the hanger of the hides in the rack has been completed, the rack with the suspended frames is elevated by any suitable hoisting means which is connected to the hook 2| carried by the supporting bars 22 attached to the top rails of the rack device. By this means the rack is bodily lowered into its suspending position in the carriage 3 mounted on the top of the vat. Assuming that the desired tanning liquor has been introduced into the vat, the reciprocating mechanism is now operated, causing the carriage to move the hide supporting frames to and fro. At each reciprocal movement, the liquor is trapped in the pockets formed by the hides and particularly at the apex of each V formation where the hide is thickest, and such trapping has a tendency to force the liquor to penetrate the hides, particularly at the thicker central portion thereof. It will be understood that this reciprocating motion may readily be controlled as to speed of movement, which, in turn, regulates the pressure which is exerted by the liquor in the action of penetration above referred to,.and by this means the process of striking the hides is greatly facilitated and the time for completion of the tanning process reduced to a material extent.

During the tanning operation, it is also to be understood that the liquor may be changed as many times as desired without removing the hides from the vat, a drain cook 23 being provided for use in this connection. When the tanning operation has been completed, it is only necessary to apply the hoisting apparatus to the elevating hook 2| and remove bodily the rack with its hide-supporting framesto the location for dismounting the hides therefrom.

. In Figure'l I have illustrated a slightly modified arrangement of the hides. It will be understood that the frames l6 may be made in length, double the width of" a half section of the hide in which event,.'when the hide is attached to the frames in the same manner hereinbefore described, the half section attached to the frame Ilia of Figure 4 will cover the opening l6 and the other half section of the hide Will cover the opening I6 of the next frame IBb. This will leave the openings at the other ends of the frames uncovered and allow the tanning liquor to act upon the flesh side of the hide as well as upon the grain side.

Itherefore desire it to be understood'that I do not wish to be retricted as to theparticuiar manner in which the hides are attached to the frames other than that they should follow the general arrangement so as to produce pockets in theapex portion of the V-formation of the frame.

- In Figure 8 of the drawings, I have illustrated a slight modification of apparatus wherein two racks A-and Bare arranged in the same vat. By suitable connection of the arching arm Ila to one strand of the endless member Illa and the other arm llb to the other strand of the member Illa, the two racks may be moved simultaneously in opposing directions. This greatly facilitates the operation of tanning with a larger number of hides, and the'reciprocatingaction of the respective racks A and B in this arrangement has a tendency to increase the pressures of the liquor upon the hides hung in the respective racks;

I desire it to be understood that the foregoing arrangement and operation of this apparatus may be modified in various ways, and I do not wish to be restricted to the details of construction hereinbefore set forth.

As exemplifying a further method andapparatus for tanning hides, reference is made to Figure 9 wherein the rack constructed and arranged in accordance with that hereinbefore described is suspended from a support 24, so that the racks depend into the vat and may be swung about said supports in any desired manner. To this end, as diagrammatically shown, a crank wheel or gear 25 is connected by the rod 26 to the suspending arms 21 of the rack which will thus be oscillated to and fro in the liquor contained in the vat.

In all of the forms of the apparatus above set forth, the rack or racks and frames are moved in substantially a horizontal plane to and fro, but this same arrangement may be employed in an apparatus in which the frames are moved upwardly and downwardly in the tanning vats to accomplish the same result. Such an arrangement as just referred to is disclosed in Figures 10 to 12 of the drawings wherein the rack member 28 is formed at one side with sockets or openings in the top and bottom side rails 28' to receive the ends of cross rods 29, whereas the opposite top and bottom rails 28" are provided with open slots to receive the opposite ends of said bars or rods. With these open slots 30, slide bolts 3| are adapted to co-act so as to engage with the ends of the bars and lock them in place.

Hide-supporting frames 32 are arranged in the rack so as to form the vertical up and down zigzag arrangement corresponding to the horizontal zig-zag arrangement of the preferred form and the bars 29 are disposed intermediate the contiguous ends of the frame, as best seen in Figure 11 of the drawings. Each of these bars is provided with a series of pins or penetrating elements 33 which are passed through the central or thicker portion of the hide in sustaining these hides in the racks.

Any method of procedure may be followedin hanging these hides so as to be stretched in the V-formation between the co-acting supporting frames. The edges of the hides may thus be fastened or tacked to one end of the frames and then a bar 29 is engaged with the central portion in the manner shown, one end of the bar being then slipped into the socket on the rack and the other end being elevated into the open slot at the other side of the rack. By sliding the bolt under the last mentioned end, the hide will then be stretched in the V-form between the two frames and will readily be removable therefrom by a. reversal of the operation just described.

The rack with its hides mounted therein is now introduced into a tanning vat 34 and suspended by means of its arms 35 from the end of a rocking bar 36 through the linkage 31. The bar or beam 36 is pivotally mounted intermediate its length on a standard or support 31 mounted on the top of the vats, there being in this case two such vats, as shown clearly in Figure 10. The other end of the beam, it will be understood, carries a second rack structure corresponding to that just described in all essential characteristics. Rocking movement is imparted to the beam by any well known actuating means, that illustrated in the drawings diagrammatically consisting of the motor 38 for operating a worm shaft and worm 39;wh1'chiin turn: operates the worm g'ear 4D to which the connecting rod M is eccentrically connected'at one end. The other end of this rod 4| is connected to the beam at a point to one side of the central beam pivot 42,.as at 43.

It will be obvious that the degree of lift imparted to the hide supporting racks may be conrolled by shifting the point of attachment of the rod 4| toward or away from the beam pivot 42. In this connection there is .shown a connecting pin for this purpose. In the operation-of this form of the apparatus, the hides mounted in the supportsare moved upwardly and downwardly in the tanning liquors in the respective. vats and pressure isexerted by the pocketing action of the hides, tending to force the liquors to penetrate the same in a comparatively short period of time. The action of the apparatus illustrated inv FigurelO will thus be substantially the same as that of the preferred form, but by this type of structure I am enabled to take advantage of the rocking apparatus which is in conventional use at the present time.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that inthe use of my method and apparatus for tanning hides as hereinbefore disclosed that the ingredients of the tanning liquor are kept constantly agitated, so'that the tendency heretofore experienced of the settling of the nontannin ingredients in the form of a sludge is eliminated. This is an important factor because it is desirable to employ the insolubles or nontannin ingredients for the purpose of "plumping up or loading the hides, and, in view of the pressures which are obtainable in the operation of the hide-supporting constructions disclosed, these materials will be caused to penetrate into the pores of the hides in a remarkably short period of time as compared with the absorption action inthe usual conventional methods. Thus, the non-tannins usually lost in the previous methods will be availed by virtue of the construction and operation of my invention.

While the specific details of construction have been herein shown'and described, the invention is not confined thereto, as alterations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what ,I claim as new as desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Hide tanning apparatus of the class described, comprising a rack and hide supporting means disposed in said rack and having means for fixedly holding the sides of a hide thereon in such spaced position as to form a pressure pocket for trapping the tanning liquor during tanning operation and forcing said liquor to penetrate the hide.

2. Hide tanning apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the supporting means is provided with spacing members for rigidly holding hide sides at an angle to each other so as to support the hide therebetween with its side sections diverging and forming a pressure pocket tending to free the tanning liquors to penetrate the hide.

3. Hide tanning apparatus of the class described, comprising a plurality of hide supporting frames, means for holding said frames in angular relation to each other with an edge of one frame contiguous to an edge of another, and means for fixedly attaching the hide sides in open position between the frames with the sides spaced from each other to effect concentration of the pressure of liquor on the thicker portion of the hide.

4. Hide tanning apparatus of theclaiss described, comprising a pluralitylof hidesupports constructed and arranged to fixedly hold hide sides spaced apart forming V.-shaped liquor .receiving pockets between the sides, and means for moving. said supports in the direction of facing of thepockets to therebytrap the liquor in the pockets under the pressure, of said moving means to force the liquor to penetrate thehide.

5. Hide tanningrapparatus of the class described, comprising a movable. rack adapted to be disposed in a tanning vat, a plurality of substantially rectangular'hide supporting members, means for supporting the saidmembers in angular relation to each other in substantially zigzag position within the rack, and means for fixed- 1y sustaining the hides relative to each pair of hide supporting members so as to form pockets in' which to-trapithe tanning liquor as the rack is moved therein.

6. In tanning apparatus of the class described, a unitary hide support adapted to be disposed in a tanning vat, comprising a substantially rectangular. rack structure consisting of spaced open side and open end frame members, rectangular hide stretching frames to which the hides are fixed in stretched V-form each having hanging means at its ends, supporting means on the side members of the rack for receiving the frame hanging means aforesaid to dispose said frames'tra'nsversely of the rack structure, and means for moving the hides to force the liquor to be concentrated between open sides of said hides.

7. In tanning apparatus of the class described; a movable hide support adapted to be disposed in a tanning vat comprising an elongated rack structure composed of spaced open side and end members, a plurality of hide stretching frames to .Which the hides are fixed in stretched position, and means for supporting said frames between the side members of the rack structure in transversely zig-zag formation from end to .endof the said structure so as to form liquor trapping pockets between the frames when the hides are disposed thereon.

8. In vtanning apparatus, the combination with a tanning vat and a carriage movable to and fro along the same ofv a unitary hide supporting structure adapted'to be mounted on the carriage andjcomposed'of a plurality of hide stretching frames, and means for holding said frames in a zig-zag formation .at an angle to each other, means for hanging hides in fixed stretched position about the angle between each pair of frames so as to form a series of liquor trapping pockets,

and means for moving the carriage and supporting structure toand fro to cause tanning liquor in the vat to be pocketed by the hides under pressure in the back and forth strokes of the said structure.

9. Tanning apparatus as set forth in claim 8 wherein thecarriage is mounted to move on tracks on the top of the vat, and the supporting structure is composed of a rectangular rack in which the hide supporting frames are removably mounted transversely of the rack.

10. Tanning apparatus of the class described, comprising a supporting structure, hide supporting frames mounted on said structure to which the hides are adapted to be connected to rigidly hold the sides of the hides. in open stretched V- shaped pocket position, means for moving the structure to and fro and means intermediate the frames for sustaining and holding the hides in said stretched positions with the hides pockets facing in the direction of movement of the structure so as tov gather tanning liquor thereinto during movement and prevent escape thereof except through the hides.

l1. Tanning apparatus as set forth in claim "10, combined with means for rocking the structureup and down to force the tanning liquor to be trapped between the hide sides.

12. Tanning apparatus of the class described, comprising a rack member having a pair of spaced side rails, one of said rails having rod receiving openings therein and theother of said rails having open slots in which the endsrof the rods are engaged, stretching rods arranged in said openings and slots, locking bolts for engaging the ends of the rods which are received in the open slots, and hide supporting frames disposed in the rack in cooperating position, said frames bein spaced a greater distance apart at one side than at the other so as to provide a substantially V- formation.

13.'Inchide tanning apparatus of the class described, the combination of a tanning vat, hide supporting means therein comprising a plurality of frames, each consisting of means for stretching'the hides and holding the sides thereof spaced apart so as to form liquor trapping pockets of the hides, and means for moving the frames in the vat-in the direction of opening of the pockets to force the liquor into the pockets under pressure and thereby cause penetration of the hides a 

